Brad Pitt’s new film Tree Of Life wins cheers and jeers at its Cannes debut

Brad Pitt’s new film Tree Of Life has received a mixed response from audiences, getting booed by critics after it was screened for the first time at the Cannes Film Festival.

Brad Pitt plays a stern father-of-three in his new film Tree Of Life – but the film divided audiences at Cannes

The Tree Of Life, directed by legendary filmmaker Terrence Malick, was one of the most hotly anticipated movies of this year’s festival – and divided its audience, most of whom seemed to either love it or loathe it.

The film stars Sean Penn as a man looking back on his childhood and his relationship with his father (Pitt), a stern disciplinarian raising his three sons in the 1950s.

It has attracted attention for its use of surreal imagery – including dinosaurs and volcanoes – as well as its sparse dialogue, beginning with a lengthy sequence in which no-one speaks at all.

Pitt said afterwards that he had initially had reservations about taking on the role.

Brad Pitt has been promoting the film in Cannes, where it received its first screening (Photo: Getty Images)

‘I was a little hesitant about playing the oppressive father, but story was so important, and for me it was really about the kids’ journey,’ said the actor, who has six children with his actress partner Angelina Jolie.

The film is only the fifth that Malick – who made his directing debut in 1973 with Badlands – has ever made.

The 67-year-old did not make a movie for 20 years after 1978’s Days Of Heaven, but Tree Of Life is his third film in the past 13 years, following The Thin Red Line and The New World.

Tree Of Life is one of 20 films competing for the P’alme D’Or, the top prize given out at Cannes for the best film. As yet it has no confirmed release date in the UK.